Kim Seung-won, who withdrew as the nominee for justice minister Sunday, is seen during his confirmation hearing Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Kim Seung-won, who withdrew as the nominee for justice minister Sunday, is seen during his confirmation hearing Tuesday. [Yonhap]

As criminal complaints against Kim Seung-won — the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who withdrew his nomination as justice minister — continue to mount from figures including Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is conducting a legal review alongside the district-level investigation. The related complaints have been assigned to the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station.

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Go Beom-seok told a regular press briefing Monday morning that the investigation was just getting under way, and that because political cases were piling up at Yeongdeungpo station, the agency was conducting a parallel legal review.

On the allegations that Kim committed sexual misconduct and other irregularities before withdrawing his ministerial nomination over the weekend, Go cautioned that "if we investigate based on allegations alone, the investigation could become arbitrary," and added that "there should be at least some material that can serve as a starting point for an investigation."

Go added that police could launch a probe if specific circumstantial evidence emerged or if a formal complaint was filed that clearly specified the charges. Regarding reports that a petition from former aides detailing Kim's alleged misconduct had been submitted to Cheong Wa Dae, Go said police had not obtained the document.

The petition reportedly contains multiple allegations against Kim, including sexual misconduct, verbal abuse of aides and an undisclosed drunk-driving incident.

Kim also faces allegations of lobbying for approval of a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial. In 2021, he allegedly received a request from Genencell, a natural-product pharmaceutical firm developing the treatment, through a broker surnamed Yang, and subsequently contacted the then-commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety asking for an expedited review of the clinical trial approval.

Prosecutors who previously investigated the matter gave Kim a deferred indictment, while other individuals involved were indicted and are currently standing trial. Police received the indictment from the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office, which handled the case, but did not receive other investigative records.

A police official said it would be difficult to investigate without first reviewing the outcome of the ongoing trial, given that the matter had already been investigated once. The official said police would comprehensively review developments and any necessary materials going forward.


newday@heraldcorp.com